Starter Line
by theHappyMasker
Summary: Stupid title. Just the start up of Mordecai and Eileen's relationship.


Rigby was avoiding her eyes again, grumpily sipping his coffee. Guess he was in a mood today. Sighing, Eileen gathered up the dishes from one of her tables and walked to the kitchen, throwing an idle hello to him, though she knew he tried to ignore it.

Dumping the dishes by the sink she glanced towards him and his friend, Mordecai, through the slightly opened kitchen door. She noticed Mordecai was gazing over at Margaret again, but instead of his usual longing gaze, his eyes were clouded over with a new expression. She pondered it in passing for a moment, but let it go as she went to get back to work.

XoXo

She was talking on her phone again, Mordecai thought, probably with another of her long line of come and go boyfriends. He didn't want to admit it to himself, and it took a while to do so, but he was beginning to think that Margaret had attention issues.

Like, _major _attention issues. She couldn't seem to function without being doted on one way or another. Or maybe she had a dependent personality? Couldn't be alone? Whatever, it was depressing either way, and giving him a headache. It seems she just wouldn't wait on him; maybe he was selfish for asking her to.

XoXo

The four of them had planned to go on another group outing that day, hanging out at the arcade until their movie came on at 10:00 p.m. Mordecai was waiting on the call to pick the girls up, and was playing video games with Rigby to pass the time.

He had just wiped Rigby's player off the face of the 8-bit Bone Splitters 2 planet and was playing celebratory punchies (much to Rigby's disdain) when he got a text. It was from Margaret, a short, vague little message stating she couldn't make it today. She had a _date._

It almost felt like a breakup, silly as that seemed. And by text no less. Harsh.

He felt his heart sink a little as he informed Rigby of the change of plans. Rigby didn't seem too bothered, after all he and Eileen had been getting closer lately anyway, though he got the feeling she was aware she was permanently friend-zoned at this point. Mordecai knew that feel.

XoXo

They started out on their way to Eileen's apartment in the cart, but right before they got down the winding park road to the gate, Rigby started screeching for Mordecai to pull over, and promptly threw his guts up in the bushes.

" Whoa, dude, are you ok?," Mordecai asked, caught between being concerned and not wanting to get to close because, fuck that is gross.

Rigby wobbled his way back, slumping on the cart's seat, and Mordecai scooted away a little.

"Duuude I think I need to go to beeed.." Rigby whined, holding his stomach.

Without a word Mordecai turned around and got him up to the room. Once Skips had a look at him, he figured it was a virus that had been going around.

Mordecai went down to the living room to let his bro rest, and to call Eileen.

"Oh, hi Mordecai! Is everything ok, you guys are a little late."

" Hey.. Actually, Rigby got sick, so he's not gonna be able to make it tonight.."

" Oh… Ok.."

He could feel a lump of guilt in his throat at her downtrodden voice, and spoke without really thinking.

"But hey! It'll still be fun, we can still hang, just you and me," he winced slightly, imagining how awkward it would be.

Eileen hesitated a moment, but agreed.

XoXo

Ok, so maybe this wasn't so bad. He had never really noticed it before when they had all hung out (possibly because of how caught up he was in impressing Margaret), but Eileen was actually really good at arcade games.

While she wasn't too spectacular at the button and joystick type, she had totally destroyed him at air hockey, and a few of the other more hands-on games. Mordecai had to admit, he was awesomely surprised.

By the time they got to the movie, they were laughing it up and acting like they had been best friends for years. He almost felt guilty enjoying himself like this, what with Rigby being sick to his stomach back at the park, but then he thought of Margaret ditching them for some meat head creep, and suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore.

XoXo

Eileen had to admit, she was really enjoying herself. It had been awhile since she had spent time with someone she didn't feel like she had to try and impress. Even with Margaret, she had to seem interested in befriending every boyfriend she ever introduced Eileen too, when she knew it was a ridiculous pursuit. They never stuck around long enough to bother with anyway.

With Mordecai.. It was just easier. He was a pretty laid-back kind of guy, and his moods were infectious.

XoXo

Mordecai, being the gentleman that he was, walked Eileen to her apartment door, and they chatted there for a bit.

"This was awesome, we should totally do this again soon!" Eileen said, rifling through her purse for her keys.

Mordecai pointed at her smoothly as he stepped away, walking backwards.

"You got it lady-dude. Catch'a later."

He started up the cart and drove away as she disappeared into her apartment.

XoXo

Eileen was at the park house again, watching movies with Mordecai. It was midday of the guys' day off, and Rigby had yet to emerge from his bed.

The movies were ones he had seen before, and Mordecai wasn't paying too much attention; rather he was thinking back to the day before when he and Rigby had stopped by the coffee house as per usual.

Margaret had suggested, since they both had the day off, they should go somewhere. He hadn't really given it much thought at the time, but had declined, saying he already had plans. He didn't mention they were with Eileen, he hadn't really thought to. He wondered now how she would have reacted.

He also wondered what had happened. Just a week ago, he would have jumped at the chance, but now he had passed it up without a second thought. Before he got too deep in the thought, Eileen asked if they had any sodas, and he volunteered to get them from the fridge.

XoXo

About a week later, Eileen started picking up bad vibes from her long-time friend Margaret. It had started out nonchalantly enough, nothing too harsh. Just a glance here, a curt answer there. But it began to progress, to the point where she was either being openly avoided, or nearly getting in an argument before Eileen would quickly smooth things over.

She was becoming genuinely concerned, and wondered at the unusual hostility. But however much she pondered at it, she came up with no plausible answers.

XoXo

Not long after, Eileen visited Mordecai at the snack bar in the park. They chatted a bit while they snacked, a bag of m&m opened and scattered on a napkin. but neither were paying much attention to the conversation. They were each lost in thought about the odd changes going down in their lives.

They only became acutely aware of each other when there hands brushed when they tried to go after the same piece of candy. Their hearts skittered in their chests nearly simultaneously, and they had to stop and think about why that would happen.

When it hit them, really _hit them_, they startled. Eileen quickly made an excuse to go, and Mordecai stammered out a goodbye, then she was gone.

XoXo

It had been nearly two weeks since they had talked, other than awkward 'hi's' and 'hello's' whenever they weren't able to avoid each other. Neither were able to concentrate on their jobs.

Eileen had dropped three separate orders in just one week, and confused many of the others. It had gotten so bad, the coffee shop manager had pulled Eileen to the side one day to ask if she was having any trouble, and if she needed a few days off. She took the offer, at her apartment at least she was sure not to see him. And she couldn't stand that. She panicked whenever she saw him, her hands shook and her heart picked up. She didn't know how to deal with it.

Mordecai was just as bad off, if not worse. He had always been bad about slacking off, but now he didn't even do it intentionally. He would be raking and suddenly stop, staring off into the distance. The truth was, he was doing some serious soul-searching the past few days.

He thought about Eileen, and Margaret, and how things were different, trying to figure out how they got to that point. Though, since he was thinking about it, it was kinda obvious. The fact was, he didn't really _know_ Margaret. Yes, he enjoyed being around her, she was fun. But it had never really been an attraction any deeper than the skin.

He had spent plenty of time with Eileen, and he _knew_ her now. He knew she traveled yearly to the beaches to help baby sea turtles get to the ocean; he knew she'd had insecurities about her slightly bucked teeth (which he happened to think were cute) since she was little; he knew she was studying library sciences at the community college; that her favorite color was yellow, even that she was a daddy's girl. Looking back now, he felt like he was incredibly shallow before.

XoXo

Benson had been watching Mordecai as of late, and he was damn tired of all the emotional drama interfering with the work flow. He caught up to him while he was supposed to be picking trash up from the park grounds, but of course he wasn't paying enough attention anyway.

"MORDECAI!"

"Wha-? Oh, hey Benson.."

"What are you doing just standing there?! You have work to do!"

"Sorry Benson, I'm just a little..," Mordecai trailed off, looking at the ground.

"This is about that coffee girl isn't it?"

"Oh, um, no, Margaret's-"

"No, no, no, not that one. The other one, what was her name? Erin?"

"Eileen…"

"Yeah, her. She's been here every other day for nearly four weeks, and suddenly not at all for two? What happened? What did you do?"

Mordecai didn't really know what to say, just opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Wait don't tell me. Don't tell me you got all tongue-tied again? Jesus Christ Mordecai, if you aren't going to fess up to your feelings, why even bother in the first place? Don't you think you owe her that much, at the very least? MAN UP!"

Mordecai hesitated a moment, but took off when Benson started going red in the face.

XoXo

He had checked at the coffee shop, but had no luck in finding her, so decided to check at her apartment. She was there, he knew; she liked to leave the drapes to the small window open when she was home to let more natural light into the place.

He walked up the metal stairs to the second story, and up to her door. His stomach was twisting and he thought his heart would just give out at any minute. His hand shook as he knocked on the door, the sound nearly making him run back to the cart. He was half turned to high-tail it when the door opened, making escape impossible, and also incredibly rude.

"H-heeyyy Eileen…"

Oh god this was embarrassing.

XoXo

Eileen peered past the door at Mordecai, not moving, or talking. She didn't know what she would have said or done if she could, anyway. She hadn't expected to see him anytime soon. Though she really wasn't sure why she had thought that, really. But she had.

He stuttered, asking to come in. How could she deny that? Rude. And they _were _still friends, though apparently strained ones recently. She guess she had herself to blame for it. She let him in.

XoXo

He sat on the small couch as she retreated to the kitchen to get some tea. He fumbled with his fingers while he waited, trying to run over what he was going to say in his head. He took a few deep breaths and almost had a grip on himself, but it was still hard to look Eileen in the face when she handed him his glass. Didn't help that their fingers touched, making them both jump.

The glass slipped his grasp and spilt all over the floor. He cursed under his breathe as he bent down to pick it up, frantically looking around for some napkins or something to clean up the mess.

"Ah- Fuck- I am so sorry!"

"No, no, it's ok, it happens! Hold on, I'll go get a towel."

She skittered out of the room.

Mordecai smacked his head, mentally berating himself for his stupidity. He wondered how he could feel so relaxed and smooth any other time, but when it was important, he felt completely stupid and inept.

The thought made him stop and look at his hands. This _was_ important. Really important. Benson had a point, he needed to get over himself if this had any hope of working out in his favor.

With that in mind, he squared his shoulders and made his way to the kitchen.

XoXo

Eileen was just closing a cabinet full of hand towels when she heard Mordecai call her from the hall, and turned to see him walk into the room. She wrung the towel in her hands nervously, but made herself look him in the eye. She could feel her face turning red.

He had a serious expression on is face, and seemed fairly determined about something. She silently prayed that he wasn't going to confront her about her strange behavior lately. She would just die.

The only way she could explain it to him was if she completely confessed. How could she even? The very idea of someone like Mordecai feeling the same way was preposterous. He was laid back, charismatic, fun. She was awkward, uptight, totally self conscious. She couldn't stand the embarrassment of telling him.

Suffice to say she was more than a bit surprised when he took the towel from her, setting it aside on a counter, and took her hands in his.

XoXo

He gripped her hands, looking her in the face for a moment, then took a deep breath. No turning back now.

"Ok so here's the thing, I've been seriously think about this for a while, and first I wanna say I'm sorry for avoiding you so much lately, it was seriously not cool. Also, I think we should totally date because I'm in love with you."

He tried to sound nonchalant, but the front was a tad ruined the way he was intensely staring.

XoXo

She was shell-shocked, and for a moment, could only stare back as her mind buzzed. Soon enough though, the words caught up to her, and she felt herself tear up. She wasn't sad or completely over come or anything; she'd always cried when she felt any intense emotion, be it anger, shock, fear, etc. In this case, it was a mix of joy, disbelief, and relief.

She leaned forward, pressing her head into his shoulder, their hands still between them. She hadn't realized they were standing so close, but it was useful now. She didn't know what to say, and she certainly didn't want him seeing her crying, giving him the wrong idea entirely! So when she spoke, it was muffled slightly by the fabric of his hoodie.

"Okay. That.. sounds pretty great actually…"

She felt Mordecai rest his cheek in her hair and smile.

XoXo

_One Week Later_

_Mordecai jogged down the stairs, nearly tripping as he tried to pull his shoe on at the same time. Rigby was in the living room reading a magazine on monster trucks, sitting on the couch, and glanced up. He smirked as he watched the taller man fumble in his pockets for the cart keys._

"_Dude, have you seen-," Mordecai stopped short, just barely catching the keys Rigby tossed his way._

"_Don't stay out to late with your giiirlfriiiend."_

_Mordecai merely huffed at him as he walked out the door, leaving Rigby to grin to himself. _

_It had been surprising, no doubt, when he had found out about the two dating. But a welcome one. He didn't like a to see his bro all heartbroken over some chic like he was with Margaret, and it was a relief that Eileen was over him. So he was pretty cool with the whole thing. _

_Things were only weird when the two were being all romantic and junk around him. Blegh. That would take some getting used to._


End file.
